Hey everyone, I'm a new owner of a ball python. I've been looking to get one for a while now. I got one from PetSmart with my friend exactly 10 hours ago and I already have a bunch of questions. I've been doing some research, but I need to make sure I have everything right so that he'll (I assume it's a male, the lady there said they weren't sure) live a long and happy life.

Here's some pics of him:











He doesn't have a name yet. Judging by his size, I think he's a couple months old, at most. And I think he's about a foot long. I was told that he only eats pinkies right now and was fed recently. He's very lively and didn't seem afraid of anything at all.

Right now, all we have is an empty cage that's about 36 inches in length, 18 inches in width, and also 18 inches in height, a UTH, and a water bowl. While we get everything ready, he'll be spending the next few days with my friend's ball python who's about a year and a half old. We watched them for a while, and they both seem to get along pretty well. His BP spends 80% of the time hiding under a rock and mine also likes to crawl in there and cuddle up with him. But I have a few questions:

1. Would paper towels be alright in lieu of "proper" bedding? It probably won't be until next month that I get something for the cage. Maybe AstroTurf or something.

2. Will he need a light to get heat from? My friend keeps insisting that he will.

3. What are some things that I'm missing/may need? For example I know I'm missing a thermometer and something to measure the humidity (forgot what it's called).

4. While we get everything ready, our two snakes seemed to have become fast friends. My snake's visit to another's cage is only temporary. When I remove him, will he miss him? Will he get depressed? I know it sounds silly but maybe that might stress him out and make him not eat, which I heard these snakes are notorious for.

5. I plan to keep the cage in my room, where there's an AC that's on for hours at a time. Without it on, my room temperature is usually in the high 70s to mid 80s in the summer. It directly faces the area where the cage will be, but it's several feet away and the temperature is always set to 70 F. The cage will also be situated a few feet higher than the AC and I felt around the area and it wasn't really that cold. Should I just be safe and move the cage, or is that fine?

Thanks for the help.